


Full Refund

by dragon_temeraire



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: College Student Stiles, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Insecure Stiles Stilinski, M/M, Mild Angst, Oblivious Stiles, Pining, Texting, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 06:05:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9421814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragon_temeraire/pseuds/dragon_temeraire
Summary: It all starts with a silly text to Derek.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the tags on [ this post](http://stileshale.tumblr.com/post/155086213602/indiandaughter-ill-pay-you-7-to-have-a-crush/).

Stiles drags himself up to his room, feet heavy on the stairs. He’d thought, now that summer was starting, he’d have a better chance. With all this free time, surely someone would let him take them on _one_ date. But he’d been turned down time and time again.

So he’s back at his dad’s place, and it seems even less likely that he’ll find someone, now that he’s away from campus.

He settles back in his chair, letting out a sigh. He’s just so tired of being rejected, of being dismissed. He just wants someone to be interested in him, to really _like_ him.

He’s fed up with it, and on a whim, he texts Derek. _I’ll pay you $7 to have a crush on me._

To his surprise, the answer comes back fast. _I only need five._

_Are you serious?_ he sends quickly, fingers gripping his phone tight. He’s pretty sure Derek thinks this is a joke, but hey, Stiles is willing to roll with it. It’s not like he’s got anything better to do.

_Bring the cash_ is all the answer he gets.

 

*

 

He jets out of the house a few minutes later, breezing through the light traffic to Derek’s loft. When he knocks, Derek just opens the door and extends his hand with an expectant expression.

Stiles cheerfully lays a crisp five in his palm, intently watching Derek’s face.

He doesn’t bat an eye, just sticks the money in his pocket and says, “Congratulations, I have a crush on you.”

“Cool,” Stiles says, strolling inside. “What are you going to do about it?”

“Thought I might send you some subtle, longing looks,” Derek says, deadpan. “Maybe make a few transparent excuses for you to stay here a little longer.” He pauses. “I have some food in the oven, do you want to stay and have some?”

“Sure, I’d love to,” Stiles says, amused. “What else are you going to do?”

Derek quirks an eyebrow, silently asking, _is this not good enough for you?_ But Stiles is here to get his money’s worth. (And he’s also curious about what else Derek is going to say.)

“I might do a couple of lingering touches as well,” Derek says, taking Stiles’ shoulder and gently squeezing. He leads him to the couch, lets his fingers trail down Stiles’ arm as he pulls away. “Why don’t you pick out a movie?”

Stiles shivers a little at the contact, then does what Derek asks.

They sit together on the couch, eating Derek’s lasagna and garlic bread. Out of the corner of his eye, Stiles occasionally catches Derek sending him these little darting glances, can feel Derek’s gaze flitting across his face. Not only that, but Derek keeps slowly inching closer and closer to him as the movie goes on, until their arms are lightly touching in a warm line of heat.

Stiles pretends not to notice, but he can’t quite hide his smile.

It’s a little embarrassing, because he knows it’s not real, but it’s _nice_ to have someone pay attention to him like this, to want to be near him.

He makes the most of Derek’s quiet, soothing contact, but once the movie’s over and the dishes are put away, he doesn’t have much excuse to stay. He’s kind of tempted to make one up, but he did tell his dad he’d drop by the station.

“Thanks, Derek,” he says quietly, lingering at the door.

“Of course,” Derek says softly. And for a long moment it seems like he’s going to say something else, but he just smiles a little instead.

Stiles gives him a wave goodbye, and then he’s down the stairs before he can think about Derek’s expression too much.

 

*

 

But Stiles’ prospects aren’t any better the next day, of course. He’s still the same old awkward, nerdy Stiles. And he feels…lonely. He’s also been thinking about Derek way more than usual lately, probably more than he should.

So it’s pretty easy to talk himself into another text. _I’ll pay you another five if you take me on a date_ , he sends to Derek.

_Where to?_

_You pick_ , Stiles answers. _Anywhere is fine._

_Okay. I’ll pick you up this afternoon_ , Derek texts back, and Stiles finds himself grinning.

He can’t wait.

 

*

 

But he’s not expecting Derek to take his five and use it to pay their way into the _botanical gardens_ , of all things. At first, Stiles is a little disappointed, because this is kind of a weird place to take a date.

But then he gets to see Derek delicately sniff every flower, watches as he intently reads every informational plaque and looks up fondly at every tree. He gets to experience Derek in his element, entirely relaxed and without fear, like he never is in the preserve. Here, he can enjoy nature like he so obviously wants to, and Stiles is enraptured, watching him.

After they wander through the rose garden, and linger under the wisteria trellises, Derek takes his hand and leads them down the shaded, tree-lined path around the pond. He tells Stiles that he comes here sometimes, when he needs a reminder that being a werewolf really _is_ a gift.

He describes the sounds of frogs splashing in the shallows, the buzz of the flitting dragonflies, and the scent of the bright yellow lily pad flowers, his voice a quiet accompaniment to the leaves softly crunching under their feet. He does it so well, Stiles almost feels like _he_ has enhanced senses, too. He’s never known Derek to really be good with words, so it’s amazing, like a revelation, and he keeps Derek talking, even as they complete the loop and head up the hill to the tropical plants building.

They spend more than three hours in the gardens, and Stiles isn’t bored even once.

It’s honestly one of the best dates he’s ever been on.

Derek pulls up in front of Stiles’ house, then actually walks him up to the front door. Stiles unlocks it and pushes it open, then pauses, hand on the knob, because it feels like Derek is waiting for something.

Derek brings up a hand, fingers gently touching his jaw, and Stiles idly wonders if he ended up with some pollen there. But then Derek is leaning in, giving him a soft, lingering kiss. Then he’s gone, Camaro pulling away with a rumble.

Stiles just leans there in the doorway, blinking in shock.

 

*

 

His lips tingle with the phantom brush of Derek’s for hours, mostly because he can’t stop thinking about it. He spends the rest of the day floating on air, right up until reality hits.

Because Derek didn’t really _mean_ it.

He’d gone along with Stiles’ requests to make him feel better, that’s all. Derek’s a good friend, and he knows Stiles has been feeling down lately, at least romantically-speaking. He’s just humoring Stiles. That’s all this is.

Stiles mopes around the house for a few days, before he finally decides that he’s going to have to talk to Derek.

 

*

 

“Hey,” he says when Derek lets him in, compressing his mouth to keep from mimicking Derek’s smile. He gets all the way to the middle of the living room before he comes up with anything else to say. “Look, I kinda sent that text to you as a joke, because I never thought you’d go for it. But I really meant it.”

He looks over, sees Derek standing nearby, watching him curiously.

He presses on. “I really wanted you to _like_ me. Because I…I have feelings for you, and I just really wanted—” He cuts himself off, takes a ragged breath. “And the other day, it felt _so real_. It was just too much for me, and I’m not—I don’t want to—I won’t ask you for anything else like that,” he finishes in a rush, then turns to go.

“I didn’t spend it, you know,” Derek says before he’s even taken a step.

“What?” Stiles says, because that was not exactly the response he was expecting.

“That first five you gave me. I didn’t spend it,” Derek says, sounding a little amused. “I’m prepared to give you a full refund.”

“Uh, okay?” Stiles says, because he’s not sure what else to say.

Derek conveys with his eyebrows that Stiles should stay put, then heads deeper into the loft, toward his bedroom. Stiles resists the urge to turn around and watch his progress, and just nervously stares out the windows instead.

Derek returns in a few moments, looking serious, and he carefully hands Stiles the same crisp five. He can see that Derek’s written on it, and it says _From Stiles_ across the front in big dark letters. He stares at it for a long moment, confused, then he flips the bill over.

_Who never needed to pay me to have a crush on him_.

He smooths his thumb over the writing, feeling hope bloom bright in his chest, then looks up at Derek, who’s smiling softly.

“I wasn’t sure if you really meant it,” Derek says. “But when you sent that text, I thought I would take a chance anyway. And when you asked for that date, well…I thought I’d make the most of it.”

“It was amazing,” Stiles breathes. “I’d like to have more dates like that with you. A lot of them. In fact,” he says, waving the five, “you could consider this down payment on dinner with you.”

“I’m your boyfriend now,” Derek says, rolling his eyes. “You don’t have to pay me.” Then he pulls Stiles into a kiss.

Stiles laughs, because he’d been _joking_ , but if it gets him a reaction like this, he’s certainly not complaining. He just smiles and holds Derek closer.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come by and prompt me/talk to me [ on tumblr ](http://dragon-temeraire.tumblr.com/).


End file.
